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Lori Vallow Daybell is on trial in Maricopa County, Arizona, on one charge of conspiracy to commit the murder of Charles Vallow, her fourth husband. Nate Eaton is live in the courtroom with updates. Please excuse any typos. Times listed below are in Mountain Standard Time, so they are an hour behind Idaho. (Arizona does not observe Daylight Saving Time.) The most recent updates are at the top.
10:59 a.m. Charles had planned to pick up JJ and take him to school. Adam says Charles and JJ were very close.
10:59 a.m. Adam ended up staying at his mom and dad’s house. He did not see Charles or Lori on July 10. His parents picked them up, they went to lunch and then hung out at the house. At the time, Zac was living with Adam’s mom and dad.
10:58 a.m. Adam thought it was very strange and bizarre that Alex was not responding. Alex never texted or called Adam back.
10:57 a.m. Adam reached out to Alex and asked if he could stay with him. Alex said that would be fine. Adam flew into Phoenix on July 10. Adam ended up not staying with Alex. When he landed in Phoenix, it was around lunchtime. Adam texted Adam as soon as he landed. Alex did not respond. That was unusual. Adam tried to call Alex. He did not answer. That was unusual. “At first I was like, he can’t be that busy. He knows I’m coming.”
10:56 a.m. The point of the recording/intervention was to take away Lori’s temple recommend. Charles spoke with Adam about flying him to Arizona to help with the intervention. Charles offered to buy the plane ticket. Lori and his parents lived in Arizona, so did Alex and Summer.
10:55 a.m. Adam spoke with Charles about going to Lori’s and recording her on the phone. Charles and Adam talked about having a family dinner to play for the stake president. There are wards and 4-5 wards are in a stake and then there is a president of the stake, Adam says. It’s someone who is high up in the church.
10:54 a.m. Adam spoke with Charles about having an intervention. “Charles was desperate because nobody in our family would talk to him. I’m sure Lori had told people in our family not to talk to him, so he thought having an intervention would be getting in front of her, recording her, giving it to the stake president, and having him hear the crazy things he was saying.” The intervention was a way to get her back to the mainstream LDS beliefs. Charles asked Adam to help him.
10:53 a.m. Charles thought Lori was going overboard and was attending the temple five times a week. “She was going a little off the wall so he figured that if she got her temple recommend taken away from her, she would come back to normal.”
10:52 a.m. After seeing the emails, Adam believed Lori was having an affair with Chad Daybell. Adam and Charles talked about it. In the courtroom, Lori is taking notes.
10:51 a.m. At the end of June 2019, Adam reviewed an email Charles got about Chad coming to Arizona to write a book about him. Adam knew Charles played minor league baseball. In the email, a person pretending to be Charles asked about writing a book about his career. Adam says Charles was not interested in a book.
10:50 a.m. Adam tried to tell his family about what Lori was saying. One reaction was that Lori was in a delusion and she will come out of it at some point. “They basically cut me off,” Adam says, referring to his family.
10:49 a.m. When asked if he confronted Lori about the beliefs, Adam says, “I just let her say what she wanted to say.” Adam said to Lori, “I don’t know if you’re crazy but what you’re saying is not real.” Lori then stopped talking to Adam.
10:48 a.m. Adam says Lori told him she had more priesthood authority than the priesthood. Treena asks Adam to explain what that means. “In our religion, the men hold the priesthood and she said she was in a state where she’s above that. I didn’t quite understand it but it was very strange.”
10:47 a.m. Treena asks if Adam ever talked to Charles about why he and Lori were having marital problems. He says yes. Treena asks if Lori had beliefs outside of what is accepted by the LDS religion. He says yes. “Lori told me she was in the process of translating from a mortal human being to an immortal human being – a celestial state.” Treena asks if the LDS religion supports that. Adam says he has not heard of that happening on earth.
10:46 a.m. Treena asks if Lori worked prior to marrying Charles. She was a hairstylist. After she married Charles, she didn’t work. Charles worked so Lori could take care of the kids “for the most part.”
10:45 a.m. People in the family were on Charles’ cell phone plan, according to Adam. Isn’t sure about car insurance. Adam says Charles sold insurance. “He was doing something with school teachers and helping them with their situation.” Charles traveled a lot for work.
10:44 a.m. Treena asks what it means to be excommunicated. Adam says it’s when the church takes away certain things from members and you are no longer able to go the temple. Adam says he and Charles texted and talked on the phone.
10:43 a.m. Treena asks if Charles and Alex were close. He says normal brother-in-law, brother type of relationship. Their family often did big events where everyone came together. Adam grew up a member of the LDS Church. He is still a member. Alex was excommunicated twice, Adam says. He isn’t sure of the dates but it was when he was an adult.
10:42 a.m. Treena asks if Alex and Lori were close. “I don’t know if close is the word I would use. Just normal brother-sister relationship,” he responds. “Over the 4-5 years they were closer. They were close for like a year and a half. They became oddly close for a while.”
10:41 a.m. In 2019, Lori and Charles had JJ and Tylee living with them. Treena asks if they always lived in Arizona. Adam says no – they lived in Texas and Hawaii. Treena asks Adam if he was close with his brother Alex “Al.” He says somewhat.
10:40 a.m. Adam’s son Zac lived with Charles and Lori. Charles had two sons from a prior marriage before Lori. They never lived with Lori or Charles but visited, according to Adam.
10:39 a.m. Adam points out that his sister is at the defense table. In July 2019, Lori was married to Charles. He believes they were married over ten years. Adam says after Charles died, Lori married Chad. Lori had Colby and Tylee from a prior marriage before Charles.
10:38 a.m. Adam says Lori and Summer were close. Treena asks how Melanie Boudreaux is related to the family. She is Stacy’s daughter – so Adam’s niece.
10:37 a.m. Adam is a professional pickleball coach. He was a radio morning show host and lived in Wichita. Treena Kay asks Adam where he grew up. Southern California. Adam says he has four siblings: Stacy, Alex, Lori, and Summer.
10:34 a.m. Video from the courtroom will be available in 25 minutes here.
10:36 a.m. Jury is in the courtroom. Treena Kay goes to get the next witness: Adam Cox. Lori’s brother.
10:33 a.m. It appears every single seat in the courtroom is full other than 4-5 on the row directly behind the defense. Those are reserved for family members.
10:31 a.m. We are waiting on the jury. Judge calls Lori, her attorneys and the prosecution to his bench to discuss scheduling for the second trial – the one involving Brandon Boudreaux.
10:30 a.m. Judge asks if anyone has an issue starting at 10 a.m. on Monday and Tuesday. The judge who is normally in this courtroom does not have any hearings. Nobody opposes so we will be starting early on Monday and Tuesday.
10:28 a.m. Judge Beresky is on the bench. Lori just walked in wearing a black business suit. Colby is staring at his mom. She has not looked back and likely does not know he is here.
10:24 a.m. Treena Kay and Det. Nathan Duncan are in the courtroom. Lori’s advisory attorneys are here. Lori has not yet arrived.
10:22 a.m. The judge’s assistant just reminded the audience to not talk and keep things quiet. She asks everyone to turn off their cell phones. Every public seat in the courtroom is full.
10:20 a.m. In the courtroom. Colby Ryan is here in the audience sitting next to Kay Woodcock. This will be the first time Colby sees his mother in person since he testifed in her Idaho trial two years ago. When he walked in the courtroom that day in Idaho, Lori looked over and mouthed, “My baby.”
English (United States) ·